- seam⇄expr. burst at the seams, to be too full or crowded.
Ex. With the highest birth rate in the world ... the island, which is only twenty-six miles long and fourteen miles wide, was bursting at the seams (Atlantic). - seam⇄expr. come apart at the seams, to fall apart; break up.
Ex. If he fails, the party might come apart at the seams (Harper's). - seam⇄noun 1. the line formed by sewing together the edges of two pieces of cloth, canvas, leather, or the like.
Ex. the seams of a coat, the seams of a sail.
2. any line where edges join.
Ex. The seams of the boat must be filled in or they - seam⇄seam (1), noun, verb.
- seam⇄seam (2), noun.
(Dialect.) fat; grease; lard. - seam⇄v.i. 1. to crack open.
2. to form a seam in knitting; purl.
3. (Dialect.) to sew. - seam⇄v.t. 1. to sew the seam or seams of; join with a seam or seams.
2. to mark (a surface, such as the face) with lines or indentations; furrow, scar, or wrinkle.
Ex. Marshes, seamed and crossed with narrow creeks ... (John Greenleaf Whittier).